Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

    A more convincing Butterfly? I haven't heard the Price/Tucker, but
    I think my very first opera set was their "Il Trovatore"; so I do
    have an idea. My only "Butterfly" on CD is the Callas on EMI (or
    Angel -- don't remember which right now). It is one of Callas's
    most endearing performances ever to have been recorded, and to be
    able to hear it at last without distortion and background grundge
    is really a joy. (I have a problem with my copy, though. The first
    disc has a tiny little scratch or two near the outer rim, which
    is where the first act is coming to an end. It skips. I haven't
    exchanged it yet because it came from Electric Gramaphone, and Sudbury
    is not a convenient place to get to for me.)
    
    If you like Puccini, try "Turandot." There are three first-rate
    copies out on CD: Sutherland/Pavarotti on London -- great sound
    and bravura singing that is almost superhuman; the conducting, by
    Zubin Mehta, however, is a little overblown for my taste. Montserrat
    Caball� is a wonderful Liu. Then there is the classic performance
    on RCA Red Seal with Birgit Nilsson/Jussi Bjoerling/Renata Tebaldi
    with Leinsdorf conducting. That has great sound (and it came out
    sometime around 1960 or '61) with electrifying performances from
    the principal singers. (I think it was Bjoerling's last recording,
    too.) And then there's the Callas. It's in mono, has a very peculiar
    (but interesting) Liu in Elizabeth Schwartzkopf, a forgettable tenor,
    and a good conductor (whose name I can't recall). It's, again, just
    a joy to be able at last to hear Callas in her prime free of the
    inevitable problems that vinyl seems to manifest.
    
    Well -- I'm really glad you opened this note and look forward to
    seeing if anyone else responds. My favorite style, by the way, is
    bel canto. Bellini, Rossini, Donizetti. Then -- on the next plateau
    down -- Verdi (believe it or not).
    
    Cheers,
    Jack Truslow
    

    I had been thinking of starting this note for a week now.  Thanks
    for being there first.
    
    I was not much of a collector in terms of the vinyl versions of
    opera for the main reason that it was so inconvenient to turn over
    the record in the middle of an act.  A loss of continuity.  
    
    The first opera that I picked up on CD was the 'Butterfly' featuring
    Freni and Pavarotti.  When I got it home I was completely blown
    away.  The sound was excellant (there are portions that litterally
    rattle the floor), the fact that an entire act fits on one CD is
    also quite convenient.
    
    Unfortunately, I can't compare it to other recordings of 'Butterfly'
    but I do like this copy very much and highly recommend it.
    
    I have one other in my collection to date (of course there are many
    others that are on the list):  Tosca featuring Kiri Te Kanawa in
    the title roll.  I haven't had the opportunity to listen to it yet
    but am very expectant.
    
    =ken

    I don't have too many Operas on CD yet -- but I did recently aquire
    Strauss's "Salome", recorded around 1960 (!) by Georg Solti, Birgit
    Nielsen, and a bunch of Viennese.   It's one of John Culshaw's
    recordings, remastered, and sounds fantastic.  Sure, there's a few
    spots where you can hear a little tape saturation, and there's always
    a little hiss, but it is VERY good.  It's a very dramatic recording
   (yes, recording) -- Culshaw liked to take part in the performance,
    as it were, and does it very well.  If you like Salome you'll
    want this one. The only other Salome on CD that I know of is
    Herbert von Karajan's, with Hildegard Behrens.  I have this on 
    cassettes.  It's also good, but much more restrained.
    
    				George

    Does anyone have recommendations for recordings of "Die Zauberfl�te"
    or "Don Giovanni?"
    
    There are only a few operas I'm familiar with.  I generally have
    to make a decision to listen to an opera enough times to get to
    like it.  The above two are next on my list.    

    Re: .4  ("Zauberfl�te" and "Don Giovanni")
    I used to collect complete recordings of "The Magic Flute" and,
    at one time -- back in the early '70s -- I think I owned every single
    one of them (unless there were a few on 78s that I didn't know about).
    My two favorites were conducted by Otto Klemperer and Karl B�hm.
    You can now get CDs of excerpts from the Klemperer and all of the
    B�hm. I don't have either because I'm determined to get the COMPLETE
    Klemperer. It has Lucia Popp as the Queen of the Night and Nicolai
    Gedda as Tamino. Also -- and for me this is QUITE an attraction
    -- it almost completely eliminates the spoken parts which, cute
    as they are the first few dozen times, become INCREASINGLY annoying
    with subsequent listenings. 
    
    As for "Don Giovanni": there's only one that I ever listen to a
    lot. Conducted by Giulini on Angel/EMI, it features a very young
    and gorgeous Joan Sutherland as Donna Anna, an icy and very outraged
    Elizabeth Schwarzkopff (I intend to misspell her name a different
    way every time it comes up, in case anyone is keeping track :-))
    as Donna Elvira, and (I think) Eberhardt W�chter as the Don. I do
    have the CD of this, and all I can say is -- GET OUT TO TOWER RECORDS
    OR ELECTRIC GRAMAPHONE AND BUY IT!!
    
    Cheers,
    Jack Truslow
    

    
    Interesting... two days into the notesfile and we've talked about
    two of the three opera sets on CD I have. So I'll second the
    reviews of the Bohm "Zauberfloete" and Maazel "Turandot". 
    
    I can also recommend the Solti "Marriage of Figaro", and have
    heard good things too about the Giulini mentioned in .5.
    
    But I'm not here to stand on a soapbox -- 
    
    Has anyone got any recommendations on Verdi operas? I've been told
    Don Carlos and Rigoletto are good places to start -- any suggestions
    on performances of these or other Verdi operas?
                           
      John

    Got the DG all digital Don Carlos from the library with Placido
    Domingo. I have found that AAD, ADD, or DDD doesn't seem to
    matter much. This particular Don Carlos is very powerful and
    beautiful. Must admit though that most opera I've heard has
    been off the radio (Texeco, Dallas and San Francisco), so
    I can't compare it with other disks.
    
    I know it's not opera, although it's a pretty operatic, but the
    best Verdi Requiem I've ever heard is the Solti, Sutherland,Horne,
    Povarati,Talvela version on the London LP; I've heard this is out
    now on CD and am hoping to find it one of these days at the library.
    Anyone heard this on CD? Is the London Solti, Pia
    Lohengar,Fisher-diskeau 'Zauberflaute' out on CD? It's also a nice
    LP.
    
    Charlie

    Well, it's not exactly opera, but since you mentioned the
    Verdi Requiem (it is *almost* opera), I would suggest the
    new version on Telarc with Robert Shaw conducting the
    Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus.  The soloists aren't
    particularly famous, but they are pretty good (especially
    Susan Dunn), and the chorus is the best ANYWHERE.  The
    orchestra is also very good, and the recording is very
    good too.

    In re. .7 and .8 (Verdi on CD):
    
    There is a CD of Giulini's recording of "Don Carlos" that has always
    vied with the Solti recording ever since it first appeared on Lps.
    It's on Angel/EMI and has good sound, although not quite the presence
    or impact that it has on a good Lp pressing (but good luck finding
    one of THOSE! The Lp came out during a period when the workers in
    the Angel plant were sabotaging the product -- the most AMAZING
    things used to come out of Angel boxes during those three or four
    months).
    
    For the Verdi "Requiem" you might also consider the CD with Giulini
    (Angel/EMI). It has the wonderful advantage of containing magnificent
    performances of the "Four Sacred Pieces" as well.
    
    JT
    

    Re .6
    
    Another Verdi recommendation - Il Trovatore, the RCA version with
    Leontyne Price, unfortunately I've no idea whether it's available
    on CD, it was hard enough to find in black form. 

    In re .5:
    
    There are at least two (but I think there may be four) recordings
    of "Il Trovatore" with Leontyne Price on RCA Red Seal. The first
    one has Richard Tucker singing Manrico and Rosalind Elias as Azucena.
    Another one has Placido Domingo, I think, as Manrico. Then -- and
    this is really getting impressionistic -- I believe there was a
    second recording with Domingo but using a different conductor. I
    have two of these: the first one was my very first complete opera
    set. It dates from about 1961 (and is conducted by Arturo Basile).
    Price is in beautiful voice, but she doesn't sing the cabaletta
    after "D'amor sul alle rose" (please excuse the mangled spelling).
    The first time I ever heard that music was many, many years after
    I had gotten to know the opera from the first Price recording when
    a friend of mine played the Callas version. "What on earth is she
    singing?!" I wanted to know. My friend, who knew only the Callas
    performance, was astonished and looked at me as though I had just
    sprouted a second head. "That's the cabaletta," he informed me rather
    drily. It was an embarrassing moment.
    
    I have the Sutherland/Pavarotti performance on a London CD and rather
    like it. Bonynge emphasizes the eerie, moonlit quality of the music,
    and Sutherland's voice has now taken on a sepulchral quality in
    the lower register that, combined with a still-perfect trill, can
    be hair-raising. Be warned, however, that the CD version of this
    (as opposed to the Lp version) makes a cut. On the vinyl, the
    very-rarely-heard ballet music is included (no other recording that
    I know of has EVER included it), but it has been dropped on the
    CD release. I dislike Marilyn Horne's interpretation of Azucena,
    too. So -- why not try the CD of Callas if you want to be on the
    safe side? Her Verdi is magnificent. (Try the CD of "Ballo in Maschera"
    with Callas and di Stefano, Act II -- starts with "Ecco l'orrido
    campo" to see what I mean.)
    
    Cheers,
    Jack Truslow
    

    Re .10 and .11
    
    It was the Price/Domingo one with Cosotto (sp?) as Azucena.
     

    re. 1071.6
    
    I bought the Guilini "Don Giovanni"... Outstanding! I can
    also now recommend the Sinopoli recording of Verdi's
    "Rigoletto". Of the six or so opera sets I have on CD,
    these two stand out.
    
    If anyone bought Maazel's "Turandot" on my recommendation,
    how is it? I screwed up -- I have Mehta's.
    
    Surprising lack of activity in this note...
    
      John
    
    
    

    I'm very fond of Opera on CD. Last weekend I finally obtained the
    long delayed release of Bellini's 'Norma', with Joan Sutherland,
    Luciano Paverotti and Monsarat Caballe. I think it is outstanding.
    J.S. (at age 58 at the time of the recording) still has an enerving
    christal 'high' and a well balanced low, which she 'develloped'
    with aging. Caballe, aging as well performes a lovely Adalgisa,
    with her voice, turned from soprano to mezzo. It is one of the
    operatic highlights.
    
    According to me, the best feminin interpreter for Puccini still
    remains Maria Callas. Try the third act of 'Tosca' (EMI). When she
    cries out for 'Mario, .... Mario' Chilling and heart toring at the
    same time.
    
    Some of my favourits:
    - Rigoletto : Sutherland Paverotti (DECCA)
    - La Traviata :Sutherland Paverotti (DECCA)
    - Forza del Destino : L. Price Domingo (RCA)
    - Madama Butterfly : Scotto Domingo (RCA)
    
    This is just for a start. Good idea, opening this note !!!

    In re the new Sutherland/Caball�/Pavarotti "Norma": Where did you
    find it? It has been listed in the London CD catalog since last
    November, which made me anticipate its release in the U.S.A. for
    Christmas -- but no such luck. There is a scene from "Norma," by
    the way, with Sutherland, Horne, and Pavarotti (the big trio) on
    their Lincoln Center concert CD. It's great! But I still want the
    old recording with Sutherland, Horne, and John Alexander that came
    out first on RCA Red Seal and then reverted to London/Decca. That
    was one of the great opera recordings of the decade (if not century),
    and I cannot understand why London/Decca hasn't issued it yet on
    CD! If anyone sees it, PLEASE write a note and tell us where you
    saw it.
    
    By the way -- in reference to the last note: those performances
    are all spectacular. Let me add a few items to the list.
    
    Rossini -- "The Barber of Seville" -- Angel/EMI -- Callas, Alva(?),
      Gobbi(?) -- can't remember the conductor (Gavazeni ?)
    Donizetti -- "Lucia di Lammermoor" -- London/EMI -- Sutherland,
      Pavarotti -- Bonynge conducting
    Bellini -- "I Puritani" -- London/Decca (oops--should have been
      Decca up above) -- Sutherland, Pavarotti -- Bonynge conducting
    Verdi -- "Simon Boccanegra" -- Deutsche Grammaphon -- Freni, Domingo(?)
      -- Claudio Abbado conducting(?)  Sorry to be so vague about this
      one because it's REALLY WONDERFUL!
    
    JT (on pins and needles waiting to find out where to buy "Norma")
    

    re 15
    
    John,
    I do'nt know how it is over there, but her in Europe the new "NORMA"
    is available in any classical CD shop. It's "just" a DECCA recording,
    in the same range as La Sonambula, Lucia di Lammermoor, etc.
    I think you should be able to obtain it overthere.
    Should you really be unable to get it (which I doubt), add a note
    and I can try to do my best to get it over to you. 
    I wish you succes.
    By the way, Could you suggest a "Turandot" to me? I heard the Suther-
    land performance, but personally, I think she's not the best Puccini
    performer.
    
    Martin

    Another great Opera suggestion. Handel's "Rodelinda", again with.....
    Joan Sutherland.
    Any other Handel_in_opera suggestions?
    
    Martin

    Did anyone ever hear Janazeck's "Katja Kabanova" (it probably is
    not spelled ok)? I went to a performance last week. It is very good,
    that is in the theatre. I'm eager to get it on CD, but don't know
    where to search for.
    
    Martin

    For a few comments on "Turandot" (in response to .16), see response
    .1 in this note. As for Handel on CD, I found a CD on the Melodram
    label (I think) of Joan Sutherland and Fritz Wunderlich singing
    "Alcina" at Covent Garden, 1959. There are also a few random selections
    at the end (what we used to call "filler" when it appeared at the
    ends of Lps) by Sutherland: Mozart's "Exultate Jubilate" and "Marten
    alle Arten" come immediately to mind -- there may also be a "Casta
    Diva" as well. Oh -- suddenly my German has deserted me. Is it "alle
    Arten" or "aller Arten"?
    
    By the way -- the "Norma" has not yet appeared in the shops in Boston.
    I'm beginning to be a little anxious. (Well, I've been waiting for
    it since November!)
    
    Jack
    

    
    If you're a Verdi fan...
    
    EMI just issued the classic Karajan 1980 performance of Aida on
    CD, with Mirella Freni, Agnes Baltsa, Jose Carreras, and the Vienna 
    Philharmonic. I picked it up last night... it is really good. (3 discs)
    
    Two comments: in Europe this is a mid-price CD, here it is full
    price. Also, while the dynamic range on this CD is superb, the
    average recording level is really pretty low -- I don't think
    I've ever cranked the volume of my amp up quite so high just to
    listen at "normal" levels.
    
    The "Vienna brass sound" is really striking in the March at the
    end of Act II of this -- I'd say the conducting and Baltsa (in
    the great mezzo role) were the strong points of this. Freni (Aida)
    is a smidge underpowered, tho as usual VERY elegant.
    
         John